Tag Archives: barbera

Wine for Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving might be an American (and Canadian) thing, so chances are you might not have a relationship with this holiday. Turkey, however, is something most of us (at least meat eaters) have a relationship with. And since Turkey is a big part of Thanksgiving, it may be fitting with suggestions of wines that pair well with turkey!

Thanksgiving – what wine should you get?

If you google “wine pairing turkey” you get many different results. I guess it all comes down to taste.
Decanter suggests oaked chardonnay or pinot noir.
Forbes brings out the big guns and suggests Champagne!
While these are all good ideas, my suggestion (as Piemontegirl) would be Barbera.

Barbera for Thanksgiving

When it comes to fatty food, like Turkey, tannin is the enemy and acidity is your friend. And if there is one thing you’ll find in Barbera, it’s acidity. Personally I also prefer red wine with meat, even if it’s “light meat”, and would therefore choose Barbera over Champagne or a white wine. Again, this comes down to tastes and preferences, but it should come as no surprise that Piemontegirl recommends something from Piemonte.

Thanksgiving Tips from Piemonte

Barbera 2020

2020 has been a strange year. A lot of things have happened. And a lot of things have been cancelled. However, one aspect of my life that remains the same is my love of wine. Here are some of my favorite Barbera from 2020:

Andrea Oberto Barbera Giada
Easily one of my all time favorites! Andrea Oberto makes 3 different Barbera, each with different use of oak. The Giada is in my opinion the best, and even though it spends quite some time in wood barrels, you can’t feel the oak in the mouth.

Diego Morra Barbera
A recent discovery, and a good one at that! The 2018 has good acidity with notes of red fruit and minerals.

Ghiomo Ruit Hora
With 15% of Nebbiolo, this wine will rock your world! This is Giuseppino’s passion project, and it shows!

Trediberri Barbera
It’s as good in 2019 as it was in 2018, perhaps even better! Not sure if all wine tastes better in 2020 (f**k Covid), but the Barbera from Trediberri certainly does!

Barbera 2021

Burlotto Barbera
Both the classic Barbera and the Aves from Burlotto are out of this world! Fabio is an outstanding winemakerm, able to make good wine in any vintage; even the difficult ones!

Elio Altare Barbera
A beautiful Barbera made by wonderful people. So happy to see it back in stock in Norway.

La Vedetta Barbera d’Asti
I know I mostly stick to Barbera d’Alba, but we can’t forget about Barbera d’Asti. And this one from La Vedetta is one of my favorites.

Gianfranco Alessandria Vittoria

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Gianfranco Alessandria Vittoria

The Gianfranco Alessandria Vittoria is a barbera superiore. The wine is named after Gianfranco’s oldest daughther, Vittoria. When you call a barbera “superiore” it usually means that the wine has aged for a bit in oak. Sometimes the wine is also released a year later than the classic barbera.

Right to left: Vittoria, Gianfranco, Bruna & Marta

Gianfranco Alessandria

Gianfranco Alessandria and his family have a winery in Monforte, where they cultivate 5.5 hectares. Even though they make excellent wine, I would say that the main “trademark” for this family is smiling. I don’t think I know another family that smiles as much as the Alessandria family does.

Marta, the youngest daughter and last to officially join the family business just finished her studies at oenology school, and brings a lot of energy with her to work.

In addition to their Vittoria barbera, they make 7 other wines, including a classic barbera. You’ll find two barolo’s in their lineup: a classic barolo and a barolo San Giovanni.

Vittoria Barbera d’Alba

Gianfranco Alessandria Vittoria

The vines used for the Gianfranco Alessandria Vittoria were planted in 1936. The vinyeard has south-east exposure.

After the fermentation, the wine ages in french oak barrels, using 40% new oak and 60% used oak. The end result is a very intense ruby red wine with purple hues. You’ll find herbaceous and fruity aromas with hints of mature black fruit.

This wine is currently not available in Norway, but it is available in other countries, like:
Denmark
Germany
United Kingdom
Italy

Altare Barbera d’Alba

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Elio Altare – the Godfather of Barolo

Elio Altare, aslo known as the Godfather of Barolo, has been making wines since about 1950. In 1976, Elio traveled to Burgundy and it was a trip that would change the course of history forever. Elio infamously took his father’s big barrels outside and chopped them up. He wanted to use small barrels instead, barrique, like the french. This act would eventually lead to his disinheritance. But Elio persevered.

Elio Altare

Elio Altare’s use of Oak

Elio Altare uses barrique for their wines, but the oak is not dominant in the wines, just a helpful tool. Use of oak allows for small amounts of oxygen to pass through, helping to work the tannins. Oak can also help combat reductive qualities and add a richness to the barbera. The wines of Elio Altare do not have a huge presence of vanilla or toast, which can be a common aspect of wines made in barrique.

Altare Barbera d’Alba

Elio Altare Barbera is made with 10-30 year old vines, from different plots. The soil is calcareous but also very sandy. The wine spends about 5 months in 100% used barrique before it’s bottled. A barbera is perfectly paired with pasta or cheese.

Vintage 2017

2017 was a “big” vintage. Nicola at Trediberri comared it to Pamela Anderson. 2017 was one of the hottest and driest vintages, with temperatures above average throughout almost the entire season. The vintage will also be known for the lack of rain. Because of both the high temperatures and the lack of rain, the harvest was very early, with some barolo grapes picked before September! Although these conditions don’t sound great, it was quite optimal for barbera.

Where can you find it?

In Norway, you can either order it online or check out these local Vinmonopol:
Ullevaal, Oslo – 15
Gjøvik – 8
Bagn – 18
Bergen, Valkendorfsgt. – 6

Trediberri Barbera d’Alba

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I talk about Trediberri quite a lot. For many reasons. One: Nicola rocks. He’s just an incredible person. Two: his wines also rock. He just makes good wines. End of story. Nicola and his team work so hard and their hard work pays off. Three: the prices are ridiculous. I mean, 189NOK (roughly $19) in Norway is almost too hard to believe.

Trediberri Barbera d’Alba Rocks

When I say that the Barbera d’Alba from Trediberri rocks, what do I mean? I could say things like:
Full body, long finish
Dark fruit, good concentration of fruit
But I won’t. Wine is so individual. Tastes are so individual. But I will tell you that I think this barbera from Trediberri is representative of a quality barbera. Very drinkable now but you can keep it for a few years (if you can stop yourself from opening them all).

Buy it?

So what am I getting at? You should be buying his wines! Did you know that some Vinmonopol stock them on their shelf? And if you’d rather buy online, you can do that too! So you really don’t have any excuses!

These are the stores that currently stock Trediberri Barbera d’Alba:
Aker Brygge – 16
Levanger – 15
Tromsdalen – 13

Nicola’s take on Vintages

Every year is different, for better or worse. 2014 is known for it’s massive amounts of rain. 2010 is considered a wine for the books. But I believe a truly great winemaker can make good wine in any vintage. If you work with nature, respect nature and generally just work hard, you can make magic happen.

In recent encounter with Nicola, this is what he said about the past vintages:

2016 is all class like Jaqueline Kennedy. 2017 is as huge Pamela Anderson. And 2018 is as skinny as Miley Cyrus.

Nicola
Trediberri Barbera d'Alba

Barbera – My Favorites

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I was recently asked about barbera, and if I had a favorite. This is a tough question to answer, because there are so many good ones. And so many different styles. I don’t think I could pinpoint just one, and here’s why.

Barbera vs Barbera Superiore

Barbera is a grape, and just like with Nebbiolo, there are multiple ways to make it. Most winemakers have a “classic” barbera, a wine made in steel tanks with no influence of wood. The wine completes both malolactic and alcoholic fermentation in steel tanks, and remain there until bottling. These wines tend to be high in acidity, full bodied with aromas of red fruits.

You will also find barbera superiore, and this wine will have influence of oak. After pressing the juice, the wine is transferred into barrels and complete the malolactic and alcoholic fermentation in barrels instead of steel tanks.* The wood gives the wine some tannins, helps balance the acidity and you might find hints of oak flavor.

“The Mario Fontana Way”

Mario Fontana is what we would call a “traditional” wine maker, and uses big barrels for all his wines. Except his Barbera. A few years ago, he decided to use cement for this grape because that made more sense to him. And we see this with other winemakers. They may chose to interpret the grapes in different ways, and use new types of material when cultivating them. Kinda cool, right?

Now, you can see where choosing a favorite can be difficult. However, there are a few I tend to chose over and over again.

Barbera

What’s available Vinmonopolet

Trediberri Barbera d’Alba 189kr
Altare Barbera d’Alba 285kr
Burlotto Barbera d’Alba 285kr
Azelia Punta (superiore) 289kr
Cavallotto Vigna Cuculo (superiore) 300kr
Vietti La Crena (superiore) 460kr

Other Favorites

Altare Larigi
Giovanni Corino Ciabot dù Re
Burlotto Aves
Marengo Vigna Pugnane

There are so many others, but if I had to chose a few then these are high on my list.

*this might vary from winery to winery, but is a general idea of how to make this wine

Thanksgiving Wine Tips

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Turkey season is upon us

So I thought it would be fitting to share some wine suggestion to go with your Thanksgiving meal.

Turkey is not a very powerful meat – low in fat and dries out easily. With meat like that, you should try to find a wine that is medium bodied and high in acidity, preferably also fairly low in tannins. Can you guess where I am going with this?

wow trediberri barbera

Barbera

Barbera is my go-to when eating Turkey. With it’s high acidity, medium body and freshness it’s perfect for your Thanksgiving meal. Here are some of the Barbera’s available at Vinmonopolet.

 

Other wines that go well with turkey are Pinot Noir. Beaujolais, and sometimes even Champagne could be the way to go! Many options here.

Favorite Friday Pizza Wine

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As most of you know, I make pizza on Fridays. And along with my pizza, I usually have a glass of wine (or three). Here are some of my favorite wines to drink with my pizza (or honestly just any time).

Burlotto Barbera & Barbera Aves
Marengo Barbera
Cavallotto Dolcetto
Andrea Oberto Dolcetto
Trediberri Langhe Nebbiolo

Some of these wines are available at Vinmonopolet! If you can’t find the wine you like, let me know and I can help you track it down. If you want more suggestions, you can subscribe to my Newsletter!

 

Barbera the Mario Fontana way!

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Cascina Fontana Babera d’Alba 2016

wow cascina fontana barberaWine: Barbera d’Alba

Producer: Cascina Fontana

Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy

Grape varieties: Barbera

Vintage: 2016

 

Eye: deep ruby red

Nose: roses, cherries, red fruits, spices

Mouth: fresh, dry, good acidity

Price Point: $23

Available at Vinmonopolet: no

Available at Systembolaget: no

Wine of the Week

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Marengo Barbera Vigna Pugnane 2015

wow marengo barbera

 

Wine: Barbera Vigna Pugnane

Producer: Marco Marengo

Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy

Grape varieties: Barbera

Vintage: 2015

 

Eye: intense ruby red

Nose: fruity, red berries

Mouth: full-bodied, fruity, warm

Price Point: $13

Available at Vinmonopolet: yes

Available at Systembolaget: no

Wine of the Week

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Carolo Revello Barbera d’Alba 2016

wow carlo revello barbera

Wine: Barbera d’Alba

Producer: Carlo Revello

Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy

Grape varieties: Barbera

Vintage: 2016

 

Eye: ruby red

Nose: slightly indistinct, some dark berries, cherry and blackberry

Mouth: high acidity, fresh, medium body

Price Point: $17

Available at Vinmonopolet: no

Available at Systembolaget: yes